No Remedy for Love
by S.Walden
Summary: What would you do if you saw someone and for a second wondered what your life would be like with them? Yamato asks himself this question. Two-shot?
1. No Remedy for Love?

No Remedy for Love

A/N: This idea hit me suddenly and I had been really wanting to write a friendship story between Yamato, Mimi, and Jyou. Also, Mimi was my original OTP, so Mimato is always good, right? (Don't worry Jyou, we still love you.)

Warnings/Pairings: This is slightly AU. I guess if they all grew up without the Digital World, since it isn't important to this story. Ages are the same, but it's college era. Pairings include Jyoumato, Mimato. I may include Taishirou and Daiken, if the need strikes me.

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><p><strong>1<strong>

Yamato struggled between keeping the warm fleece blanket around him or holding his guitar just right to play it well. He shivered, the apartment growing colder with each second. It had dropped five degrees in the last few hours and he refused to turn on the heater. Not only did the young man have an unnatural fear that the heater would somehow turn his home into an inferno, but it was just a few bucks more his Dad could save on the electric bill.

Despite the callouses that had formed over his hands these last few years, sometimes certain chords still gave him trouble. He took a second to adjust one of the nickel-laden strings and then gave it a rest. He thought a moment of how Jyou had managed to get two chords down once and was practicing between them... then his nickel allergy kicked in. God, did Yamato feel embarassed (and worried for his boyfriend), but Jyou assured him it was no big deal. (What was it, he didn't 'down a bucket of change'?)

Finally, Yamato gave the practice a rest when he couldn't feel his fingers from the cold. He sat back into the couch and had hoped his mind would drift to his boyfriend, but it only drifted to 'work' and the certain someone he had been noticing lately. Being a college band was difficult enough, but on top of that their band was one of the more active ones, leaving Yamato almost no free time between practice and gigs. Sure, this was completely his fault. Yamato would be damned if he got a lousy day job when he could make a living at this. (Make a living being his pitch of the rent and groceries, anyway.)

All this meant more time away from Jyou. Then again, when the musician did find time to get away from it all, Jyou was unavailible between his academics and internship. Yamato had always been needy in the sense he wanted to be coddled and appreciated (shrinks blamed his lack of a mother figure, he just blamed it on a lack of love in general). Jyou filled this need perfectly; always the caregiver. In turn, Yamato knew Jyou had his primal needs and the desire for a ear that would listen. Admittedly, this could annoy the blonde, especially after a night of partying. He just didn't want to hear Jyou's complaints.

Lately, though... niether of their needs were being met and they both knew it. Maybe that was why Yamato took notice to a particular young woman in the other most-overworked college band in the Odaiba area: Sorrow Sea. They were a group of three females, all aspiring pop idols. Like the female version of most visual kei bands, by the way they dressed. Their lead singer was well-known for her fashion sense and dramatic make up. Yamato had talked with her on a few occasions and found it fairly enjoyable, even if he was just learning mostly interesting things about her past.

The blonde pulled the blankets tighter, thinking of how he somehow ended up being the go-to guy for people to complain to. This wasn't an uncalled for phenomenea, seeing as Yamato always viewed himself as quite the empath. For example, whenever his band mates were stressed, he could feel it like a cloud hovering over him.

So, why was his mind drifting to some girl when he had a perfectly, loving relationship with Jyou that had been going on for three years now? He wasn't sure. Sometimes he just felt pure physical attraction (to men or women) but this was different. That same heart flutter had only hit him for a split second, but the fact that he had felt it scared him. He would never leave Jyou, but already he was imagining his life with this girl.

She shared a side of him that he wondered if Jyou truly understood. Yamato recalled their first conversation when they had been sitting around backstage. The pink-haired girl was attatching the zillionth star into her hair when she turned back, "You don't live with your family then?"

"Ah, no... Just my father," Yamato explained. They had somehow gotten on the topic of their homelives. "You?"

"My parents... I can't even begin to explain them," the girl chuckled.

"You... like to sing?" Yamato wondered.

"Mm," she responded, "... and you?"

"I prefer to play, but it's not like I'm gonna ask Takashi or something... my entire band are talentless hacks when it comes to vocals."

At this she chuckled and it was wonderful. Yamato felt happiness when she laughed. He tried not to smile, but it escaped him. "Yamato, can I tell you something?"

This alarmed him a little and he sat up, "Yeah?"

She hesitated as if she would say something detrimental and Yamato hung on her somber expression reflected in the mirror. Her lashes hid the oak color of her eyes. "Can you see my tits through this dress?"

He burned red but looked anyway, "N-N-No, you're fine."

Okay, so that wasn't the most intellectual conversation, but at least it wasn't the thing that made him contemplate love again. No, that had come a few weeks later after she had slowly disclosed a number of things regarding her past. She had an abusive boyfriend at one point, saying she only liked dangerous guys. Yamato liked to think he was dangerous, even if he really wasn't at heart. So, he put on a tough front as always, hiding that empath side of him.

"I drank a lot, too, so I'm sure I tossed a few punches his way," she chortled. "I can't drink anymore, though. Well, I try not to. I did some pot once. Oh, and there was this time where I went to jail overnight for DWI. That was dumb. I mean, I don't even like to drive, so why would I drink and drive? Ugh. Please."

This was an odd revelation. Yamato was fascinated by her stories and had always been the things he wrote about, despite experiencing little first-hand. She was the real deal. Something inside him so badly wanted to hold her and take the pain away. These feelings confused him then... and they confused him even more now as he lay curled up on the couch, staring across the room in the dark as the rain poured outside.

He could feel his heart pounding. He imagined Mimi and him getting wasted after a really good performance, bouncing from one party to the next for the rest of their lives. Maybe a life that included them struggling to raise two point five kids in a shitty apartment...

"What the Hell was I thinking...?" Yamato questioned.

"I'm not sure, but you've been zoned out for a good minute since I walked in the door," Jyou called, shaking the spare key Yamato had given him. "We _are_ meeting for tea at the shop down the street, right?"


	2. Continued

No Remedy For Love

Continued...

A/N: So many of you loved this fic, I decided to sort of tie up loose ends. This was originally a one-shot based on my personal experiences and the said inspiration for that is no longer around at my job, haha, so I hope this satisfies you guys. Thanks for reading~

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><p>That's right... Yamato and Jyou had specifically threatened to cast to Hell anyone who stood in the way of their plans that afternoon (over the past week) so the two could spend five minutes together.<p>

"How was the internship?" the blonde questioned, trying to direct his mind back to reality.

"I used the needle without fainting this time!" Jyou piped happily as he stuffed his scrubs into his tote bag and headed back to Yamato's room to change into his spare clothes. There wasn't time to go home to change from the hospital and make it back to the Ishida household in time. They communicated despite this, but not before Yamato's mind had drifted back to Mimi and her risque lifestyle that had probably involved needles in another sense at one point. If the blonde had any indication to believe the girl had been holding back on her tales.

"That's an improvement," Yamato stated. The sentence came out dryer than he had wanted and he sighed, disappointed in his own body betraying his heavy heart.

Jyou reappeared dressed in a casual sweater and jeans. Yamato eyed him and the blue-haired man blushed, "All my pants are dirty. You didn't do the laundry."

"I forgot," the blonde replied, noting the shortness of the leggings against Jyou's ankles. Thankfully, it didn't look as bad as it sounded.

Jyou noted the boy's zoned tone and contemplated if pushing the boy was a good idea. After three days straight of concerts in which they had to perform a set list of new songs and signings lasted well into the morning, the man had barely slept. The usual grey under his eyes was borderline shiners now. "We don't have to go out if you would rather sleep?"

Yamato's head snapped up as if a bullet had gone off. "You make it sound like I have a vhocie between passing out when I get home or spending much needed time with you-" Jyou frowned, thinking, _I'm being selfish... of course he needs rest. That does it, we're staying-._ "-We've been planning this for weeks. Let's get going."

Jyou smiled despite his anxiety forming a knot in his stomach. He extended a hand to his boyfriend who cautiously took it. "You know, if you wore pants, too, and turned on the heat in this place, then maybe you wouldn't look _like that_." Jyou chuckled, noting cold parts of the blonde's anatomy.

"Whatever," he replied, burning red. He returned a moment later in a shirt with a dress shirt over it, jeans, and an old pair of boots.

Jyou hummed to himself, "That's what you're wearing?"

"I look damn fine," Yamato hissed, "Now, are we going or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jyou replied, taking his lover's hand again, but Yamato pulled away. How could he hold this man's hand when he still had thoughts of that beautiful woman in the back of his mind? He resisted the urge to show this all on his face, but he was sure it did because they walked in silence to the cafe.

Yamato liked the place okay, save the server that was a scary resemblence to his mother. The tea was amazing, the coffee comparable to a high end chain, and the service was at least average on a bad day. They found their booth near the window where they could watch the passersby on the streets.

"We could have stayed home," Jyou insisted.

"Would you shut up already?" the blonde snapped. "Don't make me get started."

"Alright," Jyou chuckled. "So... I couldn't make the concert last night... and I hear it got rained out. What kept you?"

Yamato cringed at the question. "I was just talking to the other band that headlined for us. If we had managers, they would probably be setting up some sick duet or something."

Jyou liked seeing the blonde smile suddenly. "A pop band and an alternative/grunge band. Just what the world needed."

"Grunge is half pop anyway," Yamato lectured.

Jyou didn't really understand, but the way his boyfriend babbled on, he had at least picked up the jargon of genres even if he didn't understand the subtle differences between grunge, nu-metal, and alternative. All the shit was the same thing: men singing about bad relationships with women and addiction. What was there to know?

"I missed you," the blonde admitted suddenly, trying to get his mind away from Mimi again. The entire image of her being: her voice, body, personality, was tugging at him like his sleeve caught in a bramble.

"I missed you, too," Jyou replied with a wider smile. _Finally, he's not snapping at me!_ "I think we should have some fun when we get back, you know? Uh, rekindle things... you know how grumpy we get when..."

"...Oh," the blonde stumbled, "J-Jyou, I thought I told you."

"...what?"

"We're doing a charity gig at the college tonight... It was short notice because another band cancelled on them... I really didn't have any control over it."

"...oh, well... maybe when you get home, then?"

"...if I have the energy..." Yamato admitted. He wanted to scream yes but he couldn't lie. He was already falling asleep and risking third degree burns if his nose took a dive into the cup in front of him. The steam from the tea or his own nervousness was hard to distinguish between.

"It's alright, I understand," Jyou whispered. _You're just the lead of your band and have the final say in it all... You should have said no. Get Sorrow Sea to do it, if you're so damn chummy. Oh, lord, Jyou, are you... jealous?_ Jyou snickered to himself. He couldn't believe he would let himself stoop to such a childlike level.

"What's so funny?" Yamato questioned, forcing his eyes open.

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><p>"You, silly... falling asleep like that. I could probably sing in your place, if you want to get back to that man of yours," Mimi giggled.<p>

"N-No, I promised."

"I insist that you get home and make real yaoi happen."

"_Mimi_," the blonde burned red. "Actually, I..."

The young woman's oak eyes blinked quickly, "Oh, what's the matter?"

"Can I ask you something? Because if I don't, then... I can't live with myself."

"Yes, these are real," she chuckled with a smile, holding her boobs in the air with her palms.

Yamato burned deeper red, "N-No, it's not that."

"Dresses make me look fat?"

"Mimi, please."

"...okay, what's on your mind?" she said, finally calming down from her sugary personality and taking a seat. She placed a hand on Yamato's leg and he imagined her fingers sliding up a little further, then shook his head. Mimi noticed his still embarassed expression, agitated by his weariness, and sighed, "Out with it. Tell Mii what the problem is."

"I like you," Yamato blurted. "I think about you all the time, Mimi. I think about what my life would be like with you. I think about all the things we have in common that Jyou and I don't and I think about just spending time with you at the mall or something. I... Mimi?"

"...yes?" she questioned, blinking again.

"Would you go out with me?"

This time Mimi turned a bit red. "Oh, Yamato... Well..." She hesitated, staring at her platform shoes. She adjusted her bangs and took a breath, "I'm flattered, but you shouldn't throw away a wonderful relationship for someone like me. Imagine us together and how toxic we would be! We would both be dead in a month... haha!"

Yamato closed his eyes. _Yeah, probably._ "S-Sorry..."

"I'm taken anyway... it's not perfect, but it is what it is. I do know something, though." Mimi leaned in, her lips dangerously close to his cheek. "What you and Jyou have is special. Love. No: true love... that soul binding, sacrificing, animal fucking kind of love I admire. Don't throw it away on a good time that will only last a little while and lose it's appeal when you have something that lasts a lifetime. Okay?"

"Fuck, I'm so stupid," Yamato huddled into himself, doubled over in the chair.

Mimi giggled at the distraught blonde, "You're going to have thoughts like that sometimes... it's just the price you pay for having a _good_ relationship." She paused when the other's demeanor remained unchanged, "Oh, my, you're really torn up about this, aren't you, darling?"

Yamato made a groan and sat back up, tears in his eyes. "I've betrayed him by even considering it. The thought was just fleeting at first, and then..."

"No sleep," Mimi chuckled. "Blame it on no sleep."

"Mii..." Yamato sighed.

"Like I said, I bet Jyou's looked at plenty of other women."

Yamato smirked, "He only likes _men_."

"Men, then, whatever!" Mimi said, throwing her arms up with a smile. "But he's still with you. He let you come tonight even though you two promised that nothing would come between you two's time together, right? If that's not devotion..."

"Oh, fuck," Yamato whispered, wiping his eyes dry. "I shouldn't be here, should I, Mii?"

"No, you shouldn't. I'll cover for you. You need to get back home, sweetheart."

"...thank you. Thank you for everything."

"Sure," she said, giving a beautiful smile. "Now, get back to your better half before I have to find some glue and permenantly re-attatch you."

Yamato gave a somewhat weak smile and grabbed his jacket, then rushed out from the back room and to the arms of the one he loved.


End file.
